The year is 1974, and aspiring songwriter Casey Bradley is just eighteen years old when handsome, charismatic singer Danny Fiore sweeps into her life and turns it upside down.The first time she looks into Danny's turbulent blue eyes, Casey is ready to toss aside her entire future for a man who will almost certainly break her heart.

Together with guitar wizard Rob MacKenzie, Casey writes the songs that catapult Danny to a fame beyond their wildest imaginings.But life with Danny isn't what she expected.The road to success is loaded with land mines, and rivers of darkness flow through her troubled marriage.Every time Danny breaks her heart, it's Rob who picks her up, dusts her off, and glues the pieces back together.

It isn't until she suffers an unimaginable loss that Casey begins to question who she is and what she really wants from life. As she searches for herself amid the wreckage, she discovers the bittersweet truth that the choices a woman makes at thirty can differ vastly from those she made at eighteen.

COMING HOME is a poignant story about the seasons of a woman's heart, and the roundabout route we sometimes have to take to get to where we're meant to be.

My Thoughts...

This was a really excellent book. When Ms. Breton contacted me to review this book, I read the synopsis and was hooked when I read that Danny was a singer! There are a couple of things that will hook me when I read a synopsis and that's one of them. Also this story starts out in the year I was born so that caught me too. This story spans the course of about 15 years, I believe.

This is really the story of Casey who, at eighteen, is just weeks away from marrying her long time boyfriend. Her brother, Travis, comes home and introduces her to Danny Fiore, a singer who has heard some of her songs and wants her to write more songs for him to sing. He sweeps her off her feet in no time at all and she is moving away from home to be with him. Casey writes songs, but doesn't have the training to put them on paper, this is where Rob comes in. He is able to put them on paper and ends up being her writing partner for years to come.

I don't want to spoil anything and since the story covers so much time there is a lot going on. Casey, Danny and Rob end up working together for years and in the beginning its rough going, almost to the point where they gave up. Danny is a star, though, and eventually, after he pays his dues he is "discovered" by a small up and coming label and he skyrockets to stardom very quickly.

Casey and Danny encounter their share of problems over the years, but they are one of those couples that seems to persevere no matter what because they really do love each other. Rob is Casey's best friend throughout all these years, and even though he is kind of in the background he is the one that is always there for her when she has to deal with the backlash of Danny's explosive career. He is there for her in times when Danny isn't or can't be there. He encounters his share of problems with life and love over the years as well, but there is always one constant for him and that's Casey.

This is really the story about how through living life day to day and encountering it's highs and lows you realize that the things you thought you needed and wanted when you were young may not really be what's best for you. As Casey grows up and deals with tragedy she realizes that the thing she really needed was there with her all the time.

I really loved this book. It's wonderfully written and while it is long, it covers such a big chunk of time that it doesn't seem long. There was never a time, for me anyway, where the story dragged. I feel like it was well paced and the characters were nicely developed. It's also very well edited. I do have the 2nd book in this series as well, so I will be reading that one very soon.

This is an adult book with some love scenes that aren't overly descriptive, but they aren't the "fade to the next scene" kind of love scenes either. They were very tastefully written. I recommend this book if you like contemporary romance. This is a very touching story that will make you feel for the characters you are reading about.

*Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of this book courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review.*